UPMC gains access to patients abroad - Pittsburgh Business Times:

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In an agreement signed earlier this the Irish government granted provider status to UPMC Cancer Centers underdthe country's public healthg plan. The move means patients with publicf health insurance can be treatecd at the existing UPMC Whitfield Canced Centre inWaterford -- its first international outpost -- and at Beaconh Cancer Centre, a new UPMC Cancer Centers facilitgy that is scheduled to open next month soutjh of Dublin. Ireland's public health plan covers nearly half its population of some 4milliob people, and the Whitfield Centre opened in October as a facility for people with private insurance.
Now, UPMC will be able to treayt patients who are covered by the governmentg plan atboth facilities, as More important, the recognition by the Irish governmengt could open doors for UPMC in the neighboringg United Kingdom, where negotiations for still other radiation therapy centers are ongoing. "It's an enormouas breakthrough," said Chuck vice president of UPMC's strategixc business initiatives. "It's already had significant implications in the where very advanced stages of discussions areunderf way. "What differentiates us from everybody else isthat we'res on the ground running cancerf centers.
" Bogosta declined to discloss what other locations UPMC is considering. The Irelaned deal comes as several private hospitals are beinhg planned throughoutthat country, in part to address crowdin g and treatment delays at publicly owned health It also comes at a time when the Britisyh government has begun contracting with private companies to providd health care to residents of the according to Joe Farrington-Douglas, researchu fellow at the Institute for Public Policy Research, a London-basede think tank. "The governmentf monopoly is being challenged at the moment to save money andimprove efficiency," Farrington-Douglas said.
"It's almost a new marker -- opportunities will be Just a handful of internationaol health care firms have been recognized as providers by theBritisb government, he said. UPMC is among the firsyt American providers to win recognition from the Irish which is comparable to becoming a Medicare providetr inthe U.S., said Stephanie Forde, propertyy investment advisor at Goodbody Stockbroker in Dublin. "It certainly coulcd open up for more operations coming into the Forde said. "The private hospitaol market is growing.
" UPMC's plans in Irelanrd are part of thehealthh system's hub-and-spoke model for providingf radiation oncology care in partnership with community hospitals and privat e developers, a model it pioneered at smaller hospitals throughout Western Pennsylvania in recent years. UPMC enteredf 50/50 partnerships with private developerzs to open its Ireland It workedwith Dublin-based Euro Care for the UPMC Whitfield Cancet Centre, an affiliate of the 40-besd Whitfield Clinic; and Plano, Texas-based , the third-largesy hospital company in the U.S., for the new Beacohn Cancer Centre. The Beacon Centre is an affiliate ofthe 183-bed , which openedr in November, Triad's first hospital outsidw the U.
S. Euro Care is owned by dentisty Jim Madden andwife Mary. Triad is a publicly tradef company. Beacon Hospital CEO Deborah Brehe said herorganizatiom "got a good feeling" from UPMC. "Their ability to provide treatment planninhg and to help us here in Ireland to collaborate with the physicisf team in Pittsburgh is a real Brehe said. She said treatment plans for Beaconm cancer patients will be developed in Ireland in consultation with physicists at D3 AdvancedRadiatiohn Planning, a Shadyside-based company which UPMC co-founded in 2002 and partially owns. "We do our own planning here, but we have the backup of the Pittsburgh crew if we need Brehe said.
UPMC's partnership with Triad also opensd the door to cancer care agreements with the 53 othed hospitals Triad operates inthe U.S., Brehe said. "There are certainlyt opportunities," she said, but no current discussions.